
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 7, 1992                   TAG: 9203070256
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`GLADIATOR' RALLIES BUT KNOCKS ITSELF OUT AT THE BELL

"Gladiator" makes no secret from the start of being a formula movie, but the formula has higher production values than you would expect. It looks good, it has a street authenticity and the scenes that provide its foundation are well-constructed.

But then something happens: It succumbs to the age of MTV, the cliches of the genre and the exaggerated ring violence brought about by the "Rocky" movies until it staggers under its own weight.

However, there are some noteworthy performances, particularly those from Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Marshall, the two heroes.

Marshall plays Tommy Riley, the new kid at an inner-city Chicago high school. Tommy's a suburbanite whose family has fallen on hard times after his mother's death and his father's gambling debts.

Tommy appears to be an easy target for the school's toughest trouble makers. He's studious, he's college-bound and he's new to the streets.

But he has some Golden Gloves experience in his past and a sleazy fight promoter (Robert Loggia) notices. Tommy takes a match in order to pay off some of his father's debts, but it's not what he expects. It takes place in a grungy auditorium and there are no rules. Fighters use lethal six-ounce gloves and can fight as dirty as their imaginations allow.

But there's a little bit of Jake Lamotta in the kid. He's kind of a Raging Baby Bull when over-matched. And the chief promoter, an even sleazier guy than his lackey, takes notice. His name is Horn and he's played by Brian Dennehy with one-dimensional villainy: Dennehy is usually more interesting, but the performance is adequate to the role.

Written by Lyle Kessler and Robert Mark Kamen, the script contains every cliche known to this kind of movie. Tommy gains a nice girlfriend (Cara Buono), a kindly mentor (Ossie Davis), a doomed friend (Jon Seda), a stand-up friend (Gooding) and a committed enemy (Antoine Roshell).

Uh oh, did we get lost in a Tom Cruise movie? Marshall and Gooding are its chief assets. Gooding is an expressive actor with screen charisma. And Marshall brings a tough, cool intelligence to the role. He overcomes the situations the script hands him.

Director Rowdy Herrington handles the scenes with competence, but there's the obligatory music video montage to distract from the story - and the fight scenes are relentlessly brutal.

Boxing movies have entered the realm of the improbable, bruisers standing flat-footed and teeing off on each other with sledge-hammer blows while blood flies through the ring in slow motion. There's none of the finesse of Muhammad Ali or Sugar Ray Leonard. Finesse, that's the key word and that's what's missing.

"Gladiator" **: A Columbia picture at Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219) and Salem Valley 8 (389-0444). Rated R for violence and language; 110 minutes.

by CNB